Serrah sat at the back of the group, ignoring the whispers from the other angels. She was new, and sometimes it seemed like she could never catch up to the others. Whether it was making friends, or creating new life, she was always three steps behind.
"Okay, everyone, settle down," Micheal called. "We're ready to begin. Today, we're going to be performing extemporaneous creation. Rather than working on your recent designs, each of you will be expected to create a new and unique creature to inhabit some biome on earth before the end of this period. Please, work by yourselves, and be as creative as possible. You have one hour, so... begin!"
Serrah bit her lip, wrapping her soft white wings protectively around herself as she glanced around the room. All of the other angels had immediately dived into their projects, but her mind was a complete blank. How could she possibly be expected to create something unique in only an hour! When she made the dove she'd had weeks, and she'd based it heavily on existing state of the art bird technology!
"Hey, Serrah," one of the other angels whispered. "You going to turn in a ball of clay? I guess that's about all we'd expect from you."
"N-no," Serrah answered, quickly grabbing the clay, desperately starting. She paid more attention to the snickers than to what she was making, and before she knew it she'd crafted a perfect duckbill. She frowned down at the part, annoyed that she'd made something so mundane when she was supposed to be creating something unique.
"Another bird, Serrah?" Micheal asked. "I had hoped that you'd stretch yourself a bit more for this. You're supposed to be creative here, not just fill in an ecosystem gap."
"N-no, no, it's not a bird!" Serrah objected. "It's, um, it's a mammal!"
"With a duckbill?" he asked. "Well, it certainly is creative. I look forward to seeing what you create."
Serrah grabbed another handful of clay and desperately began forming a mammalian body. She tried to make it look cute, going with a semi-aquatic shape to match the duckbill she'd made for it. She was almost done with the basic outline when someone thrust a large creature, resembling a cross between a fox, a wolf, and tiger at her creation. "I hope that stupid thing ends up in mine's ecosystem," he snickered. "It looks like good eating."
Serrah bit her lip, carefully fixing the damaged she'd accidentally inflicted when she'd jumped in surprise. In a fit of annoyance she decided that her cute little creature needed some way to defend itself, and before she could second guess the thought she added poisonous spurs to its back limbs.
"Alight everyone, that is time," Micheal called. "I look forward to seeing what you can create on the spot. Serrah, why don't you start us off?"
Serrah waved her hands gently over the creature, singing a quickly composed song of life, transforming the clay into a new animal. The furry creature snapped its duck bill, looking around blearily for a moment. "This is my creation. I call it the platypus!"
"Is that... is that a poisonous spur?" Michael asked.
"Yes," Serrah said, raising her chin proudly.
"Well, you certainly were... creative," Micheal said. "Full credit."